All posts tagged Alberto Contador

To be honest, the Contador verdict today given by CAS was the best case scenario that I thought would never play out. From my perspective, it couldn’t have been a better outcome. CAS upheld the rules created by WADA, and Contador’s 2 year ban is retroactively applied so he gets to start racing again in August (right in time for the Vuelta even though he has to miss the Tour and the Olympics). But there is so much that doesn’t sit right with me.

First, CAS was the only one to do anything right, in my opinion. To start, the UCI waited ages to release the positive and apparently only did so when German media threatened to out them. And they apparently told Contador to keep quiet about the positive when they told him about it. The Spanish federation sanctioned him, then backtracked, said “just kidding!” and reversed the sanction. The UCI did appeal the Spanish federation’s no-sanction decision to CAS, but they waited until the very last minute to do it! I know it is not up to the UCI to decide how a rider is sanctioned, but you would think that they would do everything in their power to make sure the rules were upheld. Even though the CAS took its sweet time releasing a decision, its decision was in line with the WADA no-threshold drug rules, concluding that Contador’s contaminated beef defense wasn’t strong enough to prove that the ingested Clenbuteral came from outside sources.

Second, Bert only has 6 months left on his 2 year ban to serve! This is not CAS’ fault. It’s the fault of the UCI/WADA for not moving quickly enough to appeal the Spanish federation’s decision not to sanction Bert and the two sides playing cat and mouse for a year, drawing the trial out. Now, I don’t want Bert to have a 2 year ban from today, but to count all that time he was racing in 2011 as time served on his ban is bull doody. I’m not sure who to blame for that- the UCI, the rules themselves, everyone who farted around and delayed the trial, who knows. But in the end, he will have to spend 11 months not racing out of a two year ban. That’s a lot of race results to strip.

Lastly, and most grievously, is the apparent lack of consistency in treated failed drug tests. Now, I haven’t been around cycling long enough to have sat through any other positive results trials. But the example that sticks out to me the most is the Landis positive. From what I understand about that, they practically yanked him off the podium to serve him his positive. There was no hiding it. There was no delaying. The UCI basically called him guilty from day one, who cares what anyone says. That’s a marked difference from the UCI doing what it can to cover up and delay Contador’s positive and only pressing the case to the CAS after it was clear the Spanish federation wasn’t going to do anything- I believe the UCI hoped Spain would do the actual dirty work of sanctioning Bert so they wouldn’t have to. And I think if the public and WADA would’ve let them get away with not appealing the Spanish federation’s decision, they would’ve just let it ride. And we haven’t even talked about the Spanish federation’s handling of the whole situation! Not only did they do everything in their power to make sure Bert wasn’t sanctioned, the way they handled the positive of Bert’s countryman, Ezequiel Mosquera, was remarkably different. In my mind, it doesn’t matter that Mosquera’s positive was a more “traditional” positive- a positive is a positive and Bert should’ve been sanctioned just like Mosquera, especially with the rules as they are. On all levels there seems to be favoritism and inconsistencies in enforcing rules which, in my mind, is cycling’s biggest problem. The only way cycling can truly be clean is if the rules are clear, the process simple, and the punishments consistently applied.

I’m relatively happy with how it all turned out, but the whole ordeal makes me realize that cycling can only be as clean and efficient as its processes.

I have a confession to make: I want Alberto cleared of doping charges. He won me over so thoroughly during last year’s Giro and seems so dedicated to cycling, that the thought of not seeing him in the peloton makes me sad. Moreover, I’ve come to like him and want him to be innocent. I don’t want his past podium wins to be nullified. I don’t want him shamed. I don’t want him pulled from the peloton. But this side of me that has come to love Bert wars with the side of me that says justice must be done- for no matter how that clenbuteral got in his system, it was there. And according to the rules (no matter how right or wrong they might be), if the drug is there, a ban must be served. The eternal optimist and Bertie lover in me wants to believe he is not a doper. And maybe it’s naive of me, but I do think he’s clean. But the fact of the matter is that clen was found in his system and unless he can prove how it got there, he should serve a punishment. But. That doesn’t stop me from wanting him to be cleared.

I’m very conflicted at this moment. I want to hate Alberto Contador. I want him to be a bad person and do bad things so I can hate him. But he’s making it very hard and I’m finding myself wavering.

Of course, my original dislike of Contador started during the Tour last year. I had eyes only for Andy and saw Contador as the evil enemy, denying Andy a win. His reaction during the chain-dropping incident really sealed my dislike for him. I was so angry when Contador attacked after Andy dropped his chain. It just seemed so sneaky and wrong! But, the more I thought about it and the more people talked about it, I realized that while I didn’t like that he had taken advantage of Andy’s misfortune, he wasn’t necessarily wrong to have done it. It’s a race, not a sleepover party and it’s certainly not about making friends. But, my dislike ran deep, and I couldn’t stomach hearing him say how he didn’t see Andy’s mechanical or that he didn’t realize it was so serious. Bull doody. Watching the video it is very clear that Contador saw the chain drop. When Andy’s chain dropped, Vinokourov, who was right behind him, immediately sat up. Even if Contador doesn’t see the chain drop (yeah right!), wouldn’t he have wondered why his teammate sat up all of a sudden? So when Contador tries to explain his attack by saying “I didn’t see anything!” it reeked of dishonesty. You attacked, fine. Own up to it. You did it to win the race. If he would’ve said “Sorry I hurt your feeling Andy, but I had to attack- I wanted to win. Hope we can still be friends,” my opinion of him might have eased. But he didn’t, so I didn’t. After the Tour was over, I vowed to hold him in contempt.

When I read Tour de Lance, my impression of him seemed to be founded. While it was clear Contador got the short end of that stick when it came to being on the same team as Armstrong, I wasn’t willing to let Contador off the hook. As I said in my review of the book,

[Contador seems like] a quiet guy with a wounded personality problem who’s a bit selfish. Not that it’s so bad to be a bit selfish, but when you climb over others to serve yourself, you can’t expect everyone to love you for it.

The divisions on the team came just as much from Armstrong as Contador – one seemed just as capable as the other when it came to underhanded, subtle criticism. They are too similar to co-exist peacefully on the same team.

Then there was the doping positive. And what I perceived as a whining reaction to it all – “whaa, be nice to me or I’m gonna quit cycling!” Another strike.

When the season started, his racing the Giro and potentially stealing the podium from more deserving cyclists fit right into my evil Contador storyline that I had created. But as this Giro has progressed, my intense dislike of him has been wavering. When he attacked for the first time on Stage 8, I was simultaneously impressed and angered. The way he blazed by everyone and bridged up to Gatto, no problem, impressed me. But it still angered me that he attacked at all angered me. If he was going to ride this race, he darn well better not make any attempt to win!

But then, on stage 9, he took the imposing Mt. Etna to showcase his climbing prowess, and powered to a win in a way that made climbing up a volcano look easy. Then during stage 11, he didn’t exactly attack, but he seemed unable to just sit in the peloton, watching the race play out in front of him. Same for stage 13. And stage 14. And 15. And today’s stage 19. Watching his mellow, but unrelenting, attacking style, the way he seems to pass riders as though they are standing still, and the way he can’t seem to not attack has confused my dislike of him. I want to dislike him, but I can’t help but admire his go big or go home attitude. I also can’t help but admire the way his attacking seems to come from a place of intense love of cycling. In all his interviews, he says he attacks because when your legs are good, you can’t say no to them. Even though he has the GC sewn up, he won’t stop attacking and I kinda love him for it. Haven’t we all been lamenting the “defensive” style of riding lately, where riders get their lead through one good attack, then sit and protect it for the rest of the race? Well, here’s someone who’s attacking left, right, and center and it’s awesome to watch.

The way he’s been treating his fellow riders has impressed me as well. While he took stage 9 for himself, he’s not show any interest in taking any more stages. He could’ve handily, at the very least, taken stage 13 and today’s stage, 19. But instead, he let Rujano take stage 13, the little guy who worked so hard to stay on his wheel both that day and on stage 9. Then he helped Tiralingo get the stage win today. Whether or not that was his intent when he attacked, when he did get up to Tiralingo, he pulled his former teammate to the line, then let him have it. Tiralingo might have gotten the stage on his own, but it would have been very, very close, as the chasers were closing fast. He seemed genuinely happy to help his former domestique get his first win of his career.

So now I’m confused! I want to dislike him for racing in the face of an impending ban and for what he did to Andy. But I can’t. He’s racing like it’s his last 3 weeks on Earth and it’s wonderful to watch. He might be a doper, but after watching him race this Giro, I think Contador would still be amazing whether he doped or not. He has a love for cycling that is evident every time he gets on his bike. He has a grace on the bike that is beautiful to watch. His attacking style is amazing to behold. As I come to the end of this post, it seems I am no longer conflicted. I have convinced myself that it is okay to support Contador, because I love cycling and when he’s on the bike, he makes it possible for me to love it even more.